Variable Star

A pretty good mimic of Heinlein's style. Sometimes, while reading this, it felt like I had already read it. I very much felt like a 50's Heinlein book.Too much stuff about music. art and meditation,not enough on the ships drive mechanism and the economics of colony ships.When I read most of Heinlein's books and stories as a teenager, his views of women mostly blew right past me. But now I find them out of date and embarrassing.One of the women characters, after discovering that she can marry the main character,is delighted that she can give up on going to college to study law or businessand get down to her important work of making babies.Like most Heinlein books, the world is well developed with the author clearly knowing more than he puts in the story.So, teenage me would have been pleased, but much older me was a little disappointed.If you are a Heinlein fan, by all means read this.If you want to start reading his books, I would start with [b:The Moon is a Harsh Mistress 16690 The Moon is a Harsh Mistress Robert A. Heinlein https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1348768309l/16690.SY75.jpg 1048525]

A fun blast from the past with a modern twist.

This feels like reading older sci-fi novels but it mentions more modern events. It can be a tiny bit preachy , but I still enjoyed it a lot.

reviews.metaphorosis.com

2.5 stars

Bright teenager Joel Johnston learns something surprising about his beautiful girlfriend, and in consequence makes a rash decision that affects his own future and (indirectly) all of humanity.

I don't know that I've read much Spider Robinson before; maybe a few of his Callahan stories. I have read a lot of Robert Heinlein - most of what there is to read. So I can say with a high degree of confidence that Robinson did a masterful job of producing a new Heinlein novel based on an incomplete outline and some notecards Heinlein produced way back when, and never wrote up. This book sounds like Heinlein, in small ways and large.

Unfortunately, Robinson also reproduced the mid-period Heinlein's machismo and some of his less appealing quirks. Our hero is all for equality, and for sexual permutations of all descriptions, but obviously the best way is for real men to lead, right? Women are brilliant and strong, but when it comes to the tough choices, that's when the man steps in to save the day and the damsel. It's a flaw that worsened in Heinlein as he aged, until it became almost a parody of wish fulfillment. Here, Robinson gives us not a Sail Beyond the Sunset Heinlein, but a Glory Road version. It's a perspective that hasn't really aged well.

The fact is that Heinlein was really best at short fiction. Some of his novels are excellent, but the bulk are just adequate and now dated, where much of his early short work still stands strong. Robinson has done a good job with the task given to him, but I frankly would have preferred a book that assumed Heinlein had finally modernized his attitudes than one that replicates 1950s views in the 2000s.

The book is generally a quick, enjoyable read, despite the ponderous, often chauvinist philosophy. Robinson does make some missteps, such as with extended plugs for current artists and a few others. And he does very little with the characterization - key figures are very Heinleinian, but they're not very deep. The ending in particular is shallow, as are the motivations of some of the characters in it. Robinson sees this a one of Heinlein's juvenile novels, but young adults are sharper and deeper than he (or Heinlein) give them credit for.

All in all, the book is unsurprising. It was a better clone of Heinlein than I expected, but not a better book. If you miss Heinlein's voice and politics, here's a chance to see them one last time. If you want a light, male-dominated adventure story, feel free to pick this up. But as SFF has matured over the years, the quality of the content has matured with it, and I'm sorry to say that run-of-the-mill Heinlein just isn't at the top of the heap anymore.